British boxer thinks his compatriot is backing out of world heavyweight title bout
\nTyson Fury has set Anthony Joshua a deadline of Monday to sign a contract for their hugely anticipated all-British showdown or forget about facing him for the world heavyweight title.
\nThere have been protracted talks between the two camps of World Boxing Council champion Fury and Joshua, a former holder of the sport\u2019s other major heavyweight titles.
\nOnly last week the deal, based upon a 60-40 split in Fury\u2019s favour, was said to have been accepted by Joshua\u2019s management team.
\nVeteran promoter Frank Warren said a contract had been sent to Joshua\u2019s camp.
\nEddie Hearn, the promoter of Joshua, added minor issues remained to be resolved ahead of a fight expected to take place before the end of this year.
\nFury, however, is now convinced Joshua is trying to back out, prompting an expletive-filled social media post about his rival on Friday.
\nHe remained highly critical, if more measured, when talking about Joshua on Saturday.
\n\u201cI was optimistic about three weeks ago but it shouldn\u2019t be taking this long to sign a contract,\u201d Fury said in a video posted on the Twitter feed of Queensberry Promotions.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll know by Monday anyway because if it\u2019s not done by Monday then I\u2019m moving on.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not waiting around for some guy who\u2019s lost three of his last five fights. He\u2019s lucky that I\u2019m giving him a world title shot.\u201d
\nThe 34-year-old added: \u201cHe is an invited guest at my party – my rules. So, if you want to play the game, come to the banquet and take your seat.\u201d
\nWarren, however, remained optimistic the fight would go ahead, telling BT Sport: \u201cThere is a meeting taking place on Monday and I am hoping that is going to resolve what I feel is just a few outstanding issues, not for us, but it seems for them.
\n\u201cLet\u2019s hope they are good as their word and they don\u2019t duck out of it.\u201d
\nFury made the offer for a \u2018Battle of Britain\u2019 bout with Joshua after it emerged Oleksandr Usyk, the WBO, IBF and WBA champion, had ruled out fighting again until early next year.
\nJoshua, 32, suffered his second straight loss to the Ukrainian in Saudi Arabia last month.
\nFury announced he was retiring on his 34th birthday last month, having previously performed a number of U-turns over his future in the sport.
\nBut in a video posted on social media earlier this month he challenged Joshua to a showdown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
British boxer thinks his compatriot is backing out of world heavyweight title bout Tyson Fury has set Anthony Joshua a deadline of Monday to sign a contract for their hugely anticipated all-British showdown or forget about facing him for the world heavyweight title. There have been protracted talks between the two camps of World Boxing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-285701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n